Chapter Text
In the nights when to sleep is never,
I could feel my heart surrender.
A heaviness. I could not explain
the cause of the waking pain.
A friend tells me to sleep and dream,
but dreaming my dreams
would be hearing screams —
lost memories and dying hope.
All but ghosts of the realities I could not cope.
The things my heart held dear,
I had to let go — stop holding onto.
And one of them was you.
Korra puts the pen down beside her journal after writing the poem. It’s been almost two months since she last saw Asami at the cafe. She just got back from a temple in the north where her master Tenzin and his family lives. She’s starting to miss the rowdy bunch of his children.
Korra leans against the back of her chair and slowly spins to look around her room. She remembers the first few days after the incident with Kuvira; the nights she wakes up in cold sweats from the nightmares, the empty mornings when she remembers that Asami is at the hospital trying to recover, the sleepless nights when sleeping is scarier than the loud thunderstorms at night, the ache in her chest when she can only visit Asami while asleep. Her fiancee forgot about her, what they were and what they had.
Briefly, Korra is reminded of that afternoon at the cliff after their first encounter as new strangers, she felt as if the sea was calling her. The water down the cliff was inviting her to jump off where she was standing. The blood red sky looked as if it was seducing her to walk off closer to it. “What now, Korra?” was the biggest question.
Asami didn't give me up for three years, why would I give up now?
In the end, Korra didn’t go back to the cafe nor jump off that cliff.
And now, she’s looking out at her window, up at the sky where the moon shines brightly. The moon is full, the blood is high.
“No more, even if I die.” she mumbles to herself.
She went to see her master to seal her blood bending off and only one thing can trigger the seal to be broken. Along with sealing her blood bending powers, Korra decided on that same day to let Asami go. She would rather live away from her love than to risk being a cause of Asami’s suffering.
The doctors advised Korra to avoid interacting with Asami while the older woman is still recovering. Because interacting with the emerald eyed lady might trigger a premature return of the memories during that night along with the memories from hers and Kuvira’s.
She reaches for her glass of whiskey and lights a smoke. Not wanting to make her room smell like cigarettes, she stands up and walks out to smoke outside, in front of her house. All that trip to memory lane had gotten her feeling sulky and melancholic.
I need some fresh air.
While sitting at the curb and enjoying the fresh air and smoking, Korra’s phone beeps. Upon checking the notification, it shows a reminder for Korra to not forget about her first day of teaching martial arts in the local school as a physical education teacher.
She smiles lightly, “tomorrow’s going to be fun,” and blows a ring of smoke before putting it out and getting inside the house to try and get some sleep.
Korra wakes up early for her run and workout with Naga. They trail the woods behind the school and performs her Muay Thai routines at the park near her house. Naga usually waits for Korra to finish by sitting near a bench and patiently guards. The dog occasionally plays with the kids if she gets too bored or lets the kids play with her fur if she’s too lazy to play.
But there’s something different with Naga today. Korra thinks to herself. Naga isn’t sitting near a bench nor playing with the handful of kids at the park this early in the morning. Her dog is sitting beside a lamp post just outside the park.
“Hey, girl! What are you waiting there?” She calls out to Naga.
The dog just looks at Korra’s direction but never moves from her position and then resumes back to facing the rising sun. Korra decides to continue her workout so she could then prepare for her classes at the school.
Thirty minutes later...
“Arf! Arf! Arf!” She hears Naga bark excitedly. Her back is facing away from the entrance of the park and when she stops her kicking routine, she turns around to check on her dog. And when she finds what’s or who rather, is causing Naga to be that happy and energetic a familiar face comes up to her field of vision.
A woman on the ground is under Naga and is being showered with dog kisses and licks. The raven haired woman giggles as Naga’s kisses tickle her.
“That’s so sweet of you… ah ha ha ha… that tickles,” the woman reacts to Naga’s greeting.
“Asami…” she breathlessly whispers her fiancee’s name.